Damned if He Do
by beadedheart
Summary: Caroline has been beaten; vervained and staked everywhere but her heart and left for dead.  When Klaus goes to confront her about her betrayal at the grill and finds her, how does he react?  Will he finish her off?


**Prompt: Caroline has been beaten; vervained and staked everywhere but her heart and left for dead. When Klaus comes to give her a piece of his mind for her deception at the grille and finds her, how does he react? Will he finish the job?**

* * *

><p>Klaus paced the confines of his palatial bedroom angrily, just like he had every night for the past week, thoughts of <em>her<em> still swirling turbulently around in his skull. Burning those damn drawings had done _nothing_ to get her out of his head.

He was completely furious and completely sappy by turns; understanding that her love for her friends came first and still so hurt that she used his feelings for her against him. Not to mention just plain _disgusted_ that there were even feelings for her to use.

He was _the_ Hybrid for chrissake. As close to a fucking god as it was possible to get. He didn't have feelings. And he definitely didn't let his agenda be swayed by a little, helpless, baby vampire. He snarled, flinging his heavy mahogany desk chair across the room and watching it shatter, the shards falling like modern art onto his heavy carpet.

The violence gave him no pleasure. And brooding like this achieved nothing.

No. He would not be like those pitiful Salvatores, pining away over a girl so far beneath them it was sickening.

He was going to go see the traitorous little temptress and show her exactly who was in charge. He'd yell, bare his fangs, threaten her loved ones a bit, maybe even tear out her heart. That would finally get _Caroline Forbes_ out of his system for good.

His decision made, he immediately hopped out the window, too impatient to wait in a slow car. He grinned darkly, baring his teeth. He had a date with someone beautiful, strong, and full of light.

* * *

><p>He arrived at the Forbes residence in a gust of wind, blurring to stand right at their front door.<p>

He considered simply barging into the house; he had been invited after all. But he decided the surprise and subsequent fear would be greater and all the more delicious if she answered the door, expecting an innocent visitor, to find her worst fear standing on her clean little front stoop.

He rapped on the door and waited, listening for the sound of her bare feet padding across the floor. He frowned when he heard nothing. It was 3 am. No way in hell she wasn't home. He knocked again, harder, growling when there was still no movement.

He tried the door.

Unlocked.

His eyes narrowed and he quickly entered her house, looking around warily.

"Caroline." He sang. "Oh Caroline love, where are you?" His voice made the innocent words threatening. He breathed deeply, taking in the scent of her.

His eyebrows raised and his nostrils flared. He knew _that_ smell. The tang of fresh blood, and lots of it, saturated the air. How had he missed it?

Maybe sweet little Caroline had indulged in a late night snack and gotten carried away? He grinned lasciviously at the thought. He could just see it, her, lit by the moonlight as she made her kill, the delicious lifeblood of her prey splashed across her pale, creamy skin, the contrast as beautiful as it was grotesque. She would be magnificent.

He made his way quickly up the stairs, to her room, where the smell was the strongest, eager to see his fantasy made real. Maybe that's how he would punish her. By helping her become the thing she hated the most. Him.

He froze in her bedroom doorway, the sight before him most certainly _not_ what he was expecting.

There she was, his beauty, most definitely covered in blood. She actually lay in a puddle of it like some pagan offering. But it was not the picture he had envisioned.

Stakes littered her body, from the four big ones pinning her limbs to the floor to tiny little toothpicks that peppered the graceful column of her neck and her collarbones. There were two more stakes shoved cruelly into her stomach.

The drag of knife wounds flashed through tears in her cotton sleepwear and glared starkly against her lovely arms. The toxic smell of vervain drenched her body, seeping into her wounds and burning her skin. More toothpicks peppered her left cheek and a gash across her forehead sluggishly seeped blood.

Her eyes were shut, her breathing shallow. _If she's breathing at all._

Strangely, despite his anger at her, never once did the idea of finishing her off enter his mind. He didn't even consider simply leaving her there, letting the blood loss and vervain end her slowly. It didn't even occur to him.

Instead, he flashed to her side, his hands fluttering impotently over her body, not sure where to touch. She had been _thoroughly_ beaten. Bruises blossomed under the blood and wounds as he watched, tragically beautiful flowers of pain covered by milky white smoothness.

He snarled, the beast roaring to life in him. Whoever had done this to his mate would pay. He would personally make them experience everything she had ten times over before he tore their heart from their chest. He vowed that when he found them, they would not live to see another sunrise.

He forced his attention back to the limp girl before him. He could practically sense the life trickling out of her. He had to act fast. He could already be too late.

With a silent apology, he ripped the stakes pinning her to the ground from her body as painlessly as he could possibly manage. Leaving the rest for now, he scooped her into his arms, growling again as he felt the sheer volume of blood she had lost begin to saturate his own clothes. He had to get blood in her, and soon.

Before another thought crossed his mind, he was already back at the home he had built for his family. He didn't think he had ever run so fast before. One more breath and he was in his bathroom, gently laying her in the tub. He plucked the remaining stakes, both large and small, from her body, wincing at every twitch she made. The huge stakes in her abdomen made a beastly sucking noise as they fought to stay in her body.

Once she was free of the deadly wood, he turned the water on, making the stream warm and gentle. He took the showerhead in one hand and the other he placed under her shoulders, supporting her. He ran the water over her body, watching the rivulets of vervain-tainted blood make their way down her body until the water ran clean.

He tore her tattered clothes from her small frame, struggling to suppress a snarl as he saw the true extent of her still-unhealed wounds. He covered her with the longest, softest shirt he owned before scooping her again into his arms.

He laid her gently on the bed. She had not stirred once the entire time. It seemed it would fall to him to feed her. It would have been easy to get her some human blood, but he didn't want to wait that long.

She would heal faster on supernatural blood…on his blood. Without any more hesitation he tore into his wrist, propping her up and letting his blood trickle into her mouth.

He repeated this every time his wound closed, paying no attention to his growing exhaustion, his eyes focused intensely on her face. He begged her to move, a flicker of an eyelid, a twitch of the cheek, anything to show she was still alive.

After an eternity that felt longer than his thousand years, her eyes finally fluttered tiredly open. They immediately began to fall closed again, but she battled them to see who held her.

When she finally comprehended who held her, her exhausted body conveyed a watered-down version of surprise. She took a deep breath, the action seeming to only tire her further.

"Klaus…" She breathed.

The sound of her voice made his heart swell, his whole body relaxing in relief.

"Shhh. Easy now love, don't talk. Rest."

"Klaus…I…" Her voice was no more than a sigh. He placed his finger over her lips, their softness trying to distract him.

"Hush now. Sleep. I'll still be here when you wake."

She twitched her head, trying to say no. "I…have to…tell…you" She whispered. "You…need…to know…I didn't…know. I didn't…know…what they planned. I'm…so…sorry."

His eyes widened in surprise. "Shh. Shh." He cooed. "We'll talk later love."

She smiled, her eyes pained. "In case…you…should know…that I…fancy…you…too…even though…I shouldn't. Just…in case…tell everyone…I love…them. And…behave. Kay?"

The heart that he thought was long dead froze. He vigorously shook his head. "Don't talk like that! You'll be fine." He exclaimed, caressing her forehead nervously. He had to believe that. It couldn't end like this. "You'll sleep, we'll get more blood in you, and I'll take you to Paris, Rome, and Tokyo, okay?"

She continued to smile at him, her eyelids drooping shut. "Mmkay" She breathed.

* * *

><p>When Caroline Forbes woke it was with early morning sun shining across her face. She was in a luxuriant bed in the largest bedroom she'd ever seen. She stretched, enjoying the feel of Egyptian cotton sheets, but winced at the movement. The previous night's activities slowly returned to her and she pulled the sheets to her chin in fear, wondering where she was.<p>

She looked up when the door opened to see Klaus in the threshold. She remembered. He had been there, right before she fell asleep.

He stood there and studied her, his eyes dark and deep with some emotion she was afraid to identify. "Welcome back." He said.

"Where am I?" She asked.

He smirked. "At my home of course. More precisely you are in my bed."

Her hands rubbed the sheets softly. "How did I get here?"

"I brought you. I…_found_ you." He spat, his hands clenching into fists. "Who did that to you?" His voice was a dangerous snarl, his fury barely contained.

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I…I don't remember." She looked at him. "How can I not remember?"

His eyes narrowed suspiciously and he flashed over to her side, looking deep in her eyes as she gazed back fearfully. He examined her, his pupils dilating in the telltale sign of compulsion.

"It appears you were compelled." He huffed. "Well now, that narrows it down, eh love?"

"You mean…it was one of your siblings who did that to me?" Caroline shivered, the memory of the sheer a_gony_ she had felt still very much intact.

"Apparently so." He replied, looking towards the closed door suspiciously. His hands dug angrily into the sheets covering her. He forced himself to relax when he felt her tense. He had to remember that she must be traumatized after being so brutally abused. He had to try to be understanding and gentle, as foreign as it was.

He brushed her cornflower hair off of her shoulders, his fingers lingering by her forehead and pulse point, checking to see that her temperature and blood flow was much better. He was shocked when she burrowed softly into his touch, like she wanted him to stay.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

She looked herself over, doing a mental inventory. "A little stiff and sore, but much better. Did you fix me?"

He looked away, embarrassed. "I did…I gave you my blood."

She started in surprise. Had he really done that for her? She hadn't deserved that. She put a hand to his cheek, forcing him to look at her. Her eyes were warm and so, so blue. "Thank you."

His eyes captivated her. As dark and intense as they were, she saw the genuine concern and relief that he tried to hide, the worry that she would think him weak for caring for her. She unconsciously rubbed her thumb along his cheekbone, warmed when his lips quirked into a smile, showing those adorable dimples.

Just as quickly as that small smile graced his features it was gone again, replaced by a flash of insecurity that he hoped she hadn't seen.

His eyes burrowed into her face intensely. "Did you mean it?" He asked, his voice low and serious.

She tilted her head, confused. "Mean what?"

"You don't remember?" She shook her head.

He sighed. "When you were…indisposed…you woke briefly. You told me you fancied me too. Did you mean it?"

Her eyes widened in surprise. Had she really said that? She had never meant to tell him that.

"You…you seemed to think you might die. Which, by the way, you are never allowed to imply again. Scared the bloody hell out of me." He commanded with a smirk.

She giggled. "What's this?" She joked. "Is the mighty Klaus worried about somebody else?"

He chuckled. "Don't get used to it."

She smiled back, but it faded as she considered his question. Did she mean it? She knew there was something between them. As hard as she tried to fight it, she was charmed by this handsome, cultured man who treated her like a princess and yet wanted to know her for who she was. She had never experienced that kind of romantic interest.

Both Matt and Tyler had loved her, she believed that, but they loved her with as much power and experience as someone with 17 years of life could love. To be, dare she think it, loved, by someone like Klaus, with the experience of ages behind him, would be…consuming.

But there were so many things that made this wrong. Klaus had terrorized everyone. And what about her loyalty to Tyler who was right at this moment tearing himself apart to protect her? What about her loyalty to her friends, to Elena and Stefan who had been itemized and brutalized by the man concernedly kneeling at her side? She would never stand idly by and simply let him hurt the people she cared about.

But still…there was something that made her wonder, 'what if?'. The way he looked at her, spoke to her. His earnestness at her bedside the night he healed Tyler's bite. His promise to show her the beauty in the world. And what about that drawing? No one had ever seen who she was that way before. The reasons why she should piled as high as the reasons she shouldn't.

And that night, that horrid night when she thought he would die thanks to her, he had been so genuine, truly wanted to know everything about her. Resisting him just didn't seem like an option anymore.

She looked at him, her eyes bright. "Yes."

He looked surprised. "Yes?"

"Yes. I did mean it."

She knew she had made the right choice as she watched a truly real smile grace his face, his eyes lighting up like the little boy he had once been. He rushed to embrace her, but paused when she held up a finger.

"I have to be honest with you about something before we start the victory dance kay?"

He nodded solemnly.

"I do want to give…this with you a try, crazy as that sounds. But you have to understand, I will never be okay with your schemes and agendas against my friends and family. If it comes down to protecting them or simply sitting back and letting you do your thing…I will always protect them." She said with finality.

He nodded slowly. "I would never ask you to go against them. But you need to understand that the doppelganger" She raised her eyebrow, "…Elena is my key to creating hybrids. I will not let that go. At least for now."

She sighed. "I just want everyone to be happy, to not always feel hunted, by you or anyone else. I don't want you to take away their free will."

She looked so lost and, honestly, still exhausted, that he took pity on her. He reached out to caress her cheek, smiling as she leaned into his touch. He didn't think her acceptance of him would ever fail to amaze him.

"There is a lot to figure out. I'm sure some compromise can be reached love. But it doesn't have to be right now." He reasoned, pulling her into his arms. She felt so amazing there, like he was built just to hold this small girl.

She snuggled into him, resting her cheek on his chest and intertwining their hands. She struggled to suppress a yawn, tilting her head up to look him in the eyes.

"Thank you for saving me." She said.

He smiled down at her, his beauty taking her breath away. Her eyes were drawn to the redness of his lips. Not that she hadn't noticed them before, but really, what right did he have to have lips so full and ripe?

He chuckled and smirked. She looked at him to see what was so funny, quirking an eyebrow, but he simply smiled and lowered his head. Her breath caught in her throat as his pillow-soft lips brushed hers for the first time in a gentle kiss.

He pulled away only to return immediately. Her lips tasted amazing. Better than he'd imagined. And she was here with him. He pushed his lips urgently against hers, sweeping the bottom one with his tongue and earning a soft moan of pleasure from her that made his blood rush.

When they finally pulled apart they were both panting. She pouted adorably, already buzzed from his intoxicating kisses and more than ready to be drunk.

He smiled, running his fingers through her mussed blonde curls, truly content for the first time in, well, ever.

Their tender moment was interrupted when her stomach rumbled loudly. She looked at him in surprise, her cheeks flaming.

"I didn't think that was supposed to happen anymore." She told him.

His laughter rumbled through him. "You went through the ringer love. Even vampire bodies demand nourishment when they've not had enough."

He slid out of the bed, turning to offer her his hands. "C'mon love. Let's find you something to drink eh?"

She smiled and nodded, sliding into his arms, only to be scooped up and thrown over his shoulder. She squealed and giggled, this playful side of him only charming her even more.

He blurred down to their cavernous living room before setting her on her feet again. He kept one arm around her, partly out of concern and partly because he couldn't stand to let go of her for one moment.

Their little bubble of relief-induced glee was popped with Rebekah's entrance into the room. She observed them with a scowl, her expression darkening when it landed on Caroline.

"Well now Caroline, it's nice to see you…alive." She sneered. The sheer venom dripping from her voice made Caroline shiver and recoil into Klaus' arms.

He snarled, pushing her behind him. "So it _was_ you Beka. How unsurprising."

Rebekah growled, her pretty face twisted into an ugly mask by the malice rolling off her in waves. "How could you Nik? She _betrayed_ you. She tried to _kill_ us. And you give her aid?"

She shook her head, her bleach hair whipping crazily about her. "_You_ were the one who said love is a vampire's greatest weakness. And yet you let your feelings for this _child_ control your actions."

She drew herself up to her full height. "You are weak Nik. The Niklaus I know, the one who terrorized civilizations and drained multitudes simply because he could, he would have ripped out her pretty little heart and danced in her blood for her betrayal. But not you. You are weak and _pathetic_." She spat. " Just like Mikael said."

Klaus roared and rushed his sister, pinning her to the wall by her throat faster than Caroline could blink. He brought his face to hers until their noses were a hairsbreadth apart, his werewolf fangs dangerously close to her skin. His chest heaved with the force of his fury. Hairline fractures splintered the wall behind her head as Rebekah moaned in pain.

"Listen closely little sister." He snarled

"You will _never_ speak to me that way again. You will never interfere with Elena or her friends and family again. You try to go against me and my plan? Big mistake. And if you ever so much as _look_ at Caroline in a way I don't like, I will put that dagger so deep into your pretty little chest that an army couldn't get it out. Then I will bury you at the bottom of the ocean where no one will _ever_ find you." He released her, letting her fall to the ground in a heap as she rubbed her throat and gasped for breath.

He bent down, his powerful form overshadowing her. "Do we have an understanding?" He growled dangerously.

She glared at him angrily, flicking her eyes to Caroline, before nodding.

"Good. Now get out of my sight." He said, turning away, not even bothering to see if she obeyed. He walked over to Caroline's frozen form, taking her hands in his and rubbing them gently.

"Are you alright love?" He asked.

She started at the sound of his voice. She nodded slowly. "Yes…I'm okay." She replied, smiling tentatively.

He returned her smile with one of his own, stepping away from her. "Good. Now why don't we see if we can find you something to eat? AB positive I believe?" He asked with a smirk, offering his hand.

She considered him, a grin teasing the corners of her lips as she placed her hand in his. "How did you know?"

She let him lead her away, ready to let Klaus take her wherever he wanted. She knew he would keep his promise. Together they would find genuine beauty.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This is just something that popped into my head on Friday and I couldn't really stop myself from writing it down. It pretty much wrote itself. Let me know what you think!**


End file.
